What can perhaps best be described as a hyperexpansion, or boom, in the aritificial intelligence industry, is simultaneously generating a huge demand for data centers across the country and here at home. It can be thought of as a positive feedback loop on a global scale.
With that in mind, Facebook and Instagram owner Meta is now building “Hyperion” in North Louisiana. This is the global corporation's $27 billion data center, which, when completed, will be billed as the world largest of its kind in the world. As you might imagine, the onslaught of heavy traffic in the small town of Holly Ridge can be stressful and sometimes even creating dangerous conditions on the roads.
An investigation by the Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins confirms that since the project began in December (2024), thousands of dump trucks and 18-wheelers now roll through the town of Holly Ridge at a near-relentless pace, day after day. And they will continue to do so for the forseeable future, a fact not lost on most of the town's nearly 2,000 residents, young and old alike.
Just ask Penelope Hull. As a 4th grader at Holly Ridge Elementary School, she describes the constant noise of the trucks outside as...distracting. “You can't pay attention, and you get too, 'like what is that?' And then you lose what the teacher was telling you to do.”
Crashes are up seven times on the roads surrounding Meta’s new data center. At least 64 crashes this year, compared to just 9 last year, according to records obtained by the Gulf States Newsroom. Such event are disrupting daily life — from grocery runs to school operations. As a result, school officials shut down the playground next to the road this year because of safety concerns. Hull laments, “That's why they're saying we shouldn't go out there and all that 'cuz there's too many wrecks and Meta trucks and they could crash, [long pause]. “I really love that playground.”
In one crash, two dump trucks collided near the school. The driver who caused it had an expired Mexican license and had to be airlifted from a field behind the school to a hospital — on a school day. The Gulf States Newsroom interviewed more than a dozen people who live near the construction site. They describe truck drivers heading to and from the Meta site as dangerous and reckless.
Nearby homeowner Robin Williams says she’s afraid to leave her own driveway. “I've almost gotten a wreck leaving out of my road, down by the schoolhouse. They think they run the road. Her husband Joe agrees. “When you get in that car and get ready to leave you better pray that you make it to your destination.”
On Friday morning, November 21, on Red River Radio News, we will present the second half of Drew Hawkins' report, along with reactions from the state of Louisiana, the Meta corporation, and safety experts.
